Flexible, polymeric containers are well known for storing and dispensing wine, dairy products, enteral feeding solutions, fruit juices, tea and coffee concentrates, puddings, cheese sauces, and many other flowable materials, including those that must be filled aseptically. These generally include low acid materials. Flexible, polymeric containers typically have walls made of polymeric films with either a monolayer or multiple layer structure. The particular polymers constituting the container film layers vary depending on the type of material to be placed in the container. The film layers may also include an oxygen barrier material layer to prevent contact between such materials and oxygen or other gas sensitive contents. The walls of the containers may be metallized or coated with a metallic layer such as aluminum to prevent incursion of oxygen or other gases.
The flexible, polymeric containers have inlets and/or spouts for filling and dispensing the container contents. The containers are also often placed within a corrugated paper box. The spout extends through an opening in the box to dispense the contents. Such packaging systems are commonly referred to as “bag-in-box” systems. Bag-in-box packaging systems are often used in restaurants and convenience stores to facilitate service of liquid food products such as syrups, toppings, and condiments. These containers typically have a capacity of one to six gallons.
After the container is filled with a desired material, the spout is capped to seal the container and protect the contents from contamination. Depending on the type of contents, the container, spout, cap, and contents may be sterilized using steam, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), radiation or other suitable sterilizing methods. In order to maximize the shelf life of the product, it is crucial that dispensing assemblies that are integrated within the spout of the container provide a hermetic seal for the entire life cycle of the container.
There are various systems that are in use or have been proposed for dispensing liquids from a disposable package consisting of a flexible collapsible bag in a corrugated paper box. Many of these dispensing systems are used in conjunction with quick-disconnect probes. Such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,445,551, 5,095,962, and 4,421,146. In the foregoing systems, the valve members slide directly against the inside walls of the spout of the container.
Another type of dispensing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,662 wherein dispensing of the liquid using this adapter coupling is achieved by pressing a pair of fingers through the inlet opening against a resilient tube member. This causes the resilient tube member to deflect away from the inlet opening and therefore allowing the contents of the container to be dispensed.
Because flexible containers are typically intended for one-time use and are discarded once the contents of such containers have been completely dispensed, there is a need for a dispensing assembly that is cost effective, easy to manufacture, quick to market, and preferably recyclable. It is desirable that the dispensing assembly for use with such packaging systems minimizes effort in accessing the container's contents while also minimizing contamination of the contents. Preferably, the dispensing assembly can also be easily operated without tools or the like. It is also desirable that the dispensing assembly can be adapted to standard and widely-used spout configurations and can be easily adapted to a flexible hose or tube. The dispensing assembly must be reliable, while dispensing of the contents is achieved without wasting the liquid through leakage, uncontrolled opening of the connection component and the like. Further, the dispensing assembly must be of sufficiently robust construction to withstand a number of opening and closing cycles.